January 28, 2020
By Jenny Scott
In 2019, Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream received a Partnership Grant from LCMS Northern Illinois District for their program, Breakfast with Baby. The goal of this ministry is to provide families with baby-care essentials as well as fellowship and the word of Christ. The program is supported by the District as well as community donations.
Families speaking Spanish, English, French and Burmese come together each month to eat breakfast and listen to a five-minute devotion. Afterwards, parents receive 50 diapers and one box of baby wipes per family. They also have the opportunity to “shop” in the donation closet with the help of a volunteer personal shopper, while their children are cared for by other volunteers. Parents are invited to select up to three outfits for each baby, as well as other donated items.
The participants were also recipients of some of the Arch Books that LCMS Northern Illinois District purchased from Concordia Publishing House for Giving Tuesday in 2020. The books retell Bible stories with beautiful illustrations for children and were available in English, Spanish and bilingual English/Spanish versions.
In addition to food and diapers, grant funds have been used to purchase metal shelving units for diapers and clothes, a clothing rack, storage bins, kitchen supplies, two highchairs, two baby changing stations for church restrooms, and a road sign.
Breakfast with Baby provides a community where families can come together to share the love of Jesus through devotions, prayer and children’s crafts. Valuable community resources are also available. This well-organized program is an example in action of the District’s mission: Filled with living hope in Christ, Confessing, Praising, and Advancing His Kingdom.
One guest at Breakfast with Baby said the program, “Has really helped me have diapers for my daughter along with more clothes for her, plus so much additional information that’s been helpful. I think everyone is doing a fantastic job.”
Though the core support is from Our Savior, it was important for the organizers to make this a community-wide program. They were able to partner with some great organizations, including Birth to 5 Coalition District 93 and Heritage Presbyterian Church among others. Volunteers from the church as well as the community help to run the program.
“Helping moms choose life and supporting them has always been close to my heart,” said a volunteer. “Breakfast with Baby is very organized and shows the love of Jesus from the minute families enter the door.”
Breakfast with Baby meets the third Saturday of the month from 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. The organizers and volunteers have been overjoyed by the response to the program, and its popularity continues to grow. There have been times when they’ve had to operate under a modified format due to the coronavirus, such as drive-up services, and only allowing a couple of families in at one time, but they have been able to provide services every month.
If you would like to donate items, contact Our Savior Lutheran Church at 630-830-4833.
WITNESS: Encouraging personal witnessing, congregational engagement with their community, support of our NID partnerships and missions and sharing in a world mission field together.